Abrading machine actuated by water pressure



Nov. 19, 1957 M. P. MIDDLEMARK 2,813,376

ABRADING MACHINE ACTUATED BY WATER PRESSURE Filed June 13, 1957 711 1lIl Il r/ /l l/ l/ ll//l f/f/ Tu`v//////////////l//'//// /i le? l I l C?INVENTOR. Mei/fw Mams/mmf ABRADING MACHINE ACTUATED BY WATER PRESSUREMarvin P. Middlemark, Rego Park, N. Y.

Application June 13, 1957, Serial No. 665,459

4 Claims. (Cl. 5l-5) This invention relates to a peeling 'or abradingmachine particularly useful for peeling potatoes, carrots, and othervegetables or fruits wherein the skins are usually removed prior tocooking but which is also useful for treatment of machine parts such assmall metal, plastic, or wood which are to be de-burred, honed, ground,sanded, or tumbled. The machine of this invention is `of the type wherean abrasive disc is designed to be rotated by water pressure so that themachine may be simply connected to a water faucet which thus suppliesthe actuating power.

Machines of the above type have been known but their use has involvedconsiderable objections. For example, prior machines require a highdegree of water pressure to operate satisfactorily. For the same reason,referring to vegetable peeling machines, such machines would onlyaccommodate a relatively limited number of potatoes since otherwise theload would be too great for the Water pressure available. Anotherobjection was insuflicient wash water directed against the vegetables asthey were being peeled. Such wash water serves to -clear away thepeelings and also as a lubricant for the vegetables, enabling them to betumbled more completely across the abrading elements of the machine.

With the foregoing in mind, I have devised a machine which remedies theabove objections. The abrading wheel is provided with specially formedvanes which impart a high speed to the abrading wheel. The vanes furtheroperate to discharge wash water against the articles being treated afterthe pressure of the water .has been imparted to the wheel. In otherwords, it is .un necessary to divert incoming water directlyto beemployed as wash water since my machine is designed yto first takeadvantage `of the pressure thereof for driving the wheel.

A further object of this invention `is to provide improved formation ofthe bowl which holds the vegetables or other articles. To this end, thesides of the bowl are likewise formed to effect a scraping or cleaningaction. Thus, the .sides of the bowl are formed with grooves in theshape of saw-teeth which help scrape the articles. These saw-teeth arefurthermore self-cleaning in that they are vertical so as to permit washwater to run down them without hindrance and thus clear them ofscrapings or peelings.

The invention will be further understood from the following descriptionand drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical transverse, cross-sectional view of the machineas taken across the line 1 1 of Figure 2;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view as taken substantially along the line2-2 of Figure 1 and being further partly broken away to illustratedetails of construction;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view as taken along the line3-3 of Figure l;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional View as taken along the line4-4 .of Figure 1; and

Figure `5 is a fragmentary cross-sectional viewillustrating theconnection off the upper bowl to the lower bowl.

nited States Patent 0 2,813,376 Patented Nov. 19, 1957 ICC The lmachinecomprises a vegetable receiving chamber formed by the ixed lower bowl 10and thel removable upper bowl '11 which are intersecured at theirrespective peripheries to form a completely enclosed chamber. Upper bowlor cover 11 is formed with a bottom peripheral lip or rim 12 providedwith Va plurality of downwardly depending bayonet projections 13 whichinterlock with bayonet slots 14 formed on the peripheral rim 15 of thelower bowl 10. Slots 14 have an overhand 16 so that projections 13 areslipped into slots 14 and the bowl 11 rotated slightly luntil theprojections `13' are fully seated so as to intersecure the bowls. Ofcourse, the bayonet connection described is vlargely conventional andany known means such as interlocking snap projections or complementaryannular threads on lthe bowl rims may be employed.

Upper bowl 11 is provided throughout its inner surface with longitudinalvertical grooves 17 defined by saw-teeth as illustrated in Figure 4.`Saw-teeth grooves 17 have sharp leading edges which face the directionof rotation of the abrading disc as will hereinafter be described. Bowl11 is further formed with an embossed ring 18 by which the lbowl may berendered stable in an inverted position so that it may be used simply asa bowl apart from the apparatus.

Lower bowl 10 is integral with the base 19 and it is similarly formedwith vertical grooves 20 in saw-tooth form. As will be describedhereinafter, grooves 1'7 and 20 assist in the scraping or peelingaction. For this purpose, the bowls may be fabricated of high impactpolystyrene plastic.

Base 19 is annular and formed with channel-shaped spider arms 21, threesucharrns being shown. Each arm is formed with an opening 22 forsupporting a suction cup 23. Each arm is further formed with an inwardopening 24 so as to drain away any water which flows on such arms.

At the central or inward junction of arms 21 is formed upwardlyextending hollow 'boss 25. A brass or Phosphor bronze bushing 26 issecured therein. A suggested method of accomplising this is `to form thebushing with outer knurling and insert it into the boss 25 while theplastic is hot. Thereafter the plastic shrinks and rmly grasps thebushing 26. This bushing serves as a bearing as will hereinafter bedescribed. Base 19 is also formed with .an integral laterally disposedwater inlet conduit 27 which receives the water pipe 28. As shown in Figure l, conduit 27 is best formed with a slight upward disposition ortilt of from two to five degrees. Accordingly, water is introduced in aslightly upward direction to compensate for its tendency to drop throughgravitational forces. Further, this feature assists in the bowl washingaction as will be later described.

The abrading disc 30 may also be formed of high irnpact plastic and itfunctions .as the door of the lower bowl. It takes the form vof a waterwheel driven by the pressure of .the water introduced `through pipe 23.It is formed with a central hub 31 to which is secured the upper end of.a shaft 32. Shaft 32 is preferably of meta-l such as steel. A suggestedmethod of securing the shaft to the hub is to .knurl the upper end ofshaft 32 and insert it,.preferably while the `hub 31 is hot, forceablyinto the opening thereof. The :lower end of shaft 32 is reduced indiameter relative to the upper end and it is smooth peripherally so asLto rotate easily in bearing bushing 26. The upper end of lshaft 32rests upon the bushing 26.

Disc 30 is Afor-meri with a vdownwardly depending annular rib 33 .on itsunderside. From `such annular rib 33 extends a .series .of annularlyarranged vanes which are V-shaped .in horizontal cross-section. .Eachvane ris formed by two angularly related walls which depend downwardlyfrom the underside of the disc. Thus, wall 342 projects tangentiallyfrom annular rib 33 up to the center of the annular space betweeen rib33 and base 19, and the other wall 35, forming the V, returns at anangle of about 100 to wall 34 toward the inner surface of base 19. Asshown herein, about 12 such V-shaped vanes are provided spaced about 1%apart although obviously this number and spacing may be increased ordecreased as desired.

An important feature of this invention is the provision of holes 36 inthe abrading disc 30 which holes are disposed within the included angleof each V-shaped vane and adjacent to the apex thereof as illustrated inFigures l and 2. The purpose thereof is to introduce water from theunderside of the abrading disc to the upper side thereof so as to assistin the cleaning of the vegetables. Such wash water also helps clean thesides of the bowls and washes away the peelings.

The upper surface of abrading disc 30 is coated with abrasive quartz orother material such as silicon carbide. This abrasive material may besimply cemented to the upper surface of the disc by a conventionalwaterproof cement. However, any desirable abrading surface may beemployed.

This invention is practiced in the following manner:

The potatoes or other articles are loaded into the lower bowl 10. Theremote end of pipe 28 is connected to a water faucet which supplieswater under pressure such as the normal city pressure. When the water isturned on it will flow through pipe 2S and conduit 27 as indicated bythe arrows in Figure 2 and it will impinge with force on the inner Wallsof the V-shaped vanes comprised of arms 34 and 35. This will cause theabrading wheel 30 to rotate, the lower end of shaft 32 rotating withinthe bushing 26. The speed of rotation will be considerable dependingupon the water pressure and inversely with the load. However, the loadwill have less effect by virtue of the water which will be introduced tothe top of the disc 30 as will hereinafter be described. Such water actssomewhat as a lubricant so that the potatoes will tumble more easily andwill not tend to bind either against themselves or against the sides ofthe bowl.

As the water strikes the inner walls of each vane as the disc rotates,it imparts its force to such vanes and then tends to flow into holes 36and to the top of the abrading disc. The water becomes very turbulentand it is sprayed with considerable velocity around the potatoes as Wellas around the insides of both bowls. It will be observed that the wateris not thus introduced into the bowls until the pressure or forcethereof is substan- 7 tially completely imparted to the V-shaped vanes.In other words, substantially no force or pressure is lost in supplyingthe wash water to the bowls. This action thus makes possible theutilization of minimum pressures for rotating the disc since no pressureis required to be diverted for washing the vegetables. However, anotherimportant factor in assuring high speed to the disc with minimumpressures is the rear formation of the V-shaped vanes which, of course,is in inverted V-shape. Thus, rear apices 41. of the vanes act as theprows of a ship in forcing its way through accumulated water. It will beunderstood that the spaces between the vanes become rapidly filled upwith water particularly in the vicinity contiguous to conduit 27. Suchwater offers an impediment of speed of rotation but the apices 41streamline the rear surfaces of the vanes and cut through such waterwith a minimum of resistance. Obviously, the holes 36 also function toclear the vanes of water but they do not act fast enough wherefore theapices 41 are required to slice through accumulated water.

Because of the complete utilization of the water pressure, the abradingdisc will rotate rapidly and will clean the vegetables thoroughly andexpeditiously. At the same time, more vegetables can be accommodatedbecause of the improved action. It has been found that the sides of thebowl in saw-tooth formation, also are of value in scraping thevegetables. It will be observed in Figure 2 that, as shown, the abradingwheel 3i) rotates in a clockwise direction. Accordingly, the potatoeswill also be impelled in a clockwise direction. With this in mind, lhave arranged the vertical grooves 17 and 20 with their saw-tooth edgesinclined toward the direction of rotation. Thus, in Figure 3 the arrow45 designates the direction that the potatoes are impelled. The straightside 46 of saw-teeth grooves 20 face in the direction of rotation sothat the potatoes strike the sharp edges of the grooves withconsiderable force. This further scrapes and cleans the potatoes. Itwill be observed that since the grooves 1'7 and 20 are Vertical, thewash water will simply flow down them so as to clean away scraped skins.

Grooves i7 face the same way as grooves 2t). It may also be observedthat the upward tilting of conduit 27 is useful in directing watertoward and into the holes .'56 so as to assist in the washing action.

While I have shown and described what I believe to be the bestembodiment of my invention, it will be apparent to those skilled in theart that many changes and modications may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the invention as shown in theappended claims. Further, I have emphasized the utility of the machinefor potatoes or other vegetables but it is also useful for fruits or fortreating various articles such as metal, plastic or wooden parts asindicated above.

What is claimed is:

l. An abrading machine comprising a bowl, an abrading disc rotatablymounted therein, a series of annularly arranged vanes on the undersideof the disc, said vanes being V-shaped in horizontal cross-section andformed from two angularly related walls depending downwardly from saidunderside, said disc being formed with holes disposed adjacent theapices of said V-shaped vanes and communicating with the included angleof said vanes, and an upwardly tilted conduit for directing a stream ofwater under pressure upwardly within the included angle of said vaneswhereby said water will actuate said disc and will also flow throughsaid holes to the upper side of said disc.

2. An abrading machine comprising a bowl, an abrading disc rotatablymounted therein, a series of annularly arranged vanes on the undersideof the disc, said vanes being V-shaped in horizontal cross-section andformed from two angularly related walls depending downwardly from saidunderside, and means to direct a stream of water within the includedangle of said vanes so as to import rotation to said disc, said discbeing formed with holes disposed adjacent the apices of said V-shapedvanes and directly communicating with said vanes whereby water will flowfrom said vanes through said holes to the upper side of said disc.

3. An abrading machine according to claim 2 and including an upper bowl,and locking means for securing said upper bowl to said lower bowl, saidupper bowl being formed with longitudinal vertical grooves on its innersurface.

4. An abrading machine comprising upper and lower bowls connectable toeach other to form a substantially fully enclosed chamber, a base onsaid lower bowl, an abrading disc rotatably mounted in said base andhaving a top abrading surface which constitutes the floor of said lowerbowl, an annular rib integrally depending from said abrading disc, aseries of V-shaped vanes integrally formed with said abrading disc andsaid rib, each of said vanes comprising a first wall extendingtangentially outwardly from said rib and a second wall extending fromsaid first wall in a return direction and at an angle therewith so as toimpart rotation to said disc, said disc being formed with holes disposedadjacent the apices of said V-shaped vanes and communicating with saidincluded angle of said vanes so that a portion of said stream of watermay be diverted from said vanes upwardly and into said lower bowl.

References Cited in the le of this patent 6 Johnston May 17, 1938 MayerJune 5, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS IGreat Britain Nov. 9, 1948

